Railway-rail joint.



' PATENTED JAN. 10, 1905. G. A. GILGHRIST. RAILWAY RAIL JOINT.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 15,1904.

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RM 0 9 l 0 l N A .J D E T N E T A P 1 S I R H C L I G Am mm RAILWAY RAIL JOINT.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 15,1904. I

4 SHEETS-S HIBET 2 PATENTED JAN. 10. 1905.

7 G. A. GILGHRIST. RAILWAY RAIL JOINT.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY 15,1904.

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'Vl U Moe wi/tmeooaa No. 779,707. PATE'NTED JAN. 10, 1905.

G. A. GILCHRI ST.

RAILWAY RAIL JOINT.

urmonxon nun JULY 15,1904.

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x llllllll vantages and several Patented January 10, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES A. GILCHRIST, OF RIDGEl/VOOD, NEW JERSEY.

RAILWAY-RAIL JOINT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 779,707, dated January 10, 1905. Application filed July 15, 1904. Serial No. 216.737.

To all whom it puny concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES A. GILoHRIs'r, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the village of Ridge-wood, in the county of Bergen and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Rail Joints, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings.

The invention relates to that class of joints by which the ends of two railway-rails are united orheld together. Of the various forms of such joints which have heretofore been constructed those most generally used have had the ends of the rails united by fish-plates or angle-bars bolted through holes near the connecting ends. These joints possess certain adwell-known objectionable features, notably the inefficiency of the bolts and nuts to stand against frequent and excessive strains to which they are subjected, and hence inspection and repairs are often necessary.

One object of the present improvement is to do away with bolting the angle-bars and to secure the joint by means of wedge formations on the angle-bars when combined with a suitably-formed chair for receiving the ends of the rails; and another object is to provide the joint with additional means of resisting the tendency toward displacement or separation either by reason of contraction or expansion or for other causes.

To these ends the invention consists in the peculiar construction and combination of parts, with functions as hereinafter more fully described and claime In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of a supported rail-joint and of parts of three ties-a joint-tie and two shoulder-ties-placed at proper distances from each other to assist in the making of the joint by means of the chairs and angle-bar wedges. also shown. Fig. 2 is a side view of the same, the ties, however, being cut in section at the point which exposes the spikes and means of securing the chairs. Fig. 3 is a cross-section on the line a a of Fig. 1 at the ends of the rails; and Fig. 4 is a cross-section on the line c of Fig. 1, showing the small end of the angle-bar. Fig.

5 is a plan view of a suspended rail-joint and shows parts of two ties between which the ends of the rails meet and are secured by chairs and angle-bar wedges, while Fig. 6 is a side viewin which the ties are cut to expose the spikes on one side of the rail. Fig. 7 is a cross-section of the rail and wedges, taken on the line 6 e of Fig. 5; and Fig. 8 is acrosssection taken on the line 0 0 of Fig. 5. Fig. 9 is a bottom plan of the contiguous ends of two rails, showing sockets on the bottom thereof arranged in rows for receiving lugs, studs, or buttons on the large chair and also the angle-bar wedges placed at each side of such rails with one of the small chairs in place. Figs. 10 and 11 are respectively plan views of a chair'for a supported and for a suspended rail-joint, while Figs. 12 and 13 are respectively end views of the same chairs. Figs. lei and 15 are respectively bottom plan views of two of the smaller chairs, which are shown in end views by Figs. 16 and 17. Figs. 18 and 19 are respectively plan and end views of one of the angle-bar wedges.

In the drawings, 1 1 represent the rails, and 2 2 the adjoining ends thereof, the heads of which may be cut diagonally, as shown, or square across. The ends of the rails are loosely received and partially enveloped by the chairs 3 3, which are made fast to a tie 4 when the joint is to be supported; but when suspended the chair is placed between the ties. These chairs are formed with a bottom 5 and with or without holes for receiving spikes 6 6, as the case may be. The chairs also have sides 7 7, which rise upwardly and from which inwardly-turned sloping wings 8 8 are formed and make a bend upwardly, so as to terminate in flanges 9 9. The spaces between the sides 7 7 of the chair and between the wings 8 8 and bottom 5 and between the flanges 9 9 are such as to loosely receive the rails and resist the pressure from the angle-bar wedges when inserted.

The wedges 10 are of some length and have surfaces tapered transversely and longitudinally, so as to present wedging surfaces in difi'erent directions between the enveloped and inclosing parts of the rails and chair. Thus it will be seen that the wedges 10 have -used on near-by tics.

contact with the rails 1 1 on the under side of the head 11 of such rails and that they are mainly free from the web 12 thereof, while they bear on the upper surface of the base or corners 13 13 just below the web and again on the upper surface near the outer edges of the base and also on the edges of the base of the rails. These bearing-surfaces are preferably finished smooth, so as to have as little friction between the wedges and the rails as possible, and in order to prevent the wedges from being drawn back and loosened by the contraction of the rails they preferably have less contacting surface on the rails than on the chair to save labor of smoothing. The surfaces of the Wedges 10 which come in contact with and bear against the chair are left rough, so as to cause as much friction as possible. Some of the sur-. faces-as, for example, the upper face of the flanges 9 9 of the chair-may be specially formed rough, as indicated at I L 14, Figs. 10 and 11, so that ledge 15 of the wedge 10, which bears on these surfaces in opposition to the upper bearing beneath the head of the rail, will have the greatest possible frictional contact. The wedges 10 are of such crosssectional contour as to cause them to have bearings 16 16 on the inside of the flanges 9 9 and bearings 17 on the under side of the wings 8 8 of the chair and bearings 18 on the bottom of the chair outside of the edges of the rails and bearings 19 on the inside of the sides 7 7 of the chair. Some or all of the edges of the several angular parts of the wedges 10 are madeto taper toward one or both ends, and the thickness of the metal is made to vary, so as to be thinner at the ends. The two wedges for each joint may be made alike and reversed endwise when inserted on opposite sides of the rail, and when a supported joint is made, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. auxiliary chairs 20 may be These chairs have overturned corners 21, made to receive the small end of the angle-bar wedges when driven to the limit, and turned-down corners 22 to be driven in the ties. In the suspended joint similar chairs may be used on two ties, as shown, the largest chair being suspended be tween such ties, and the wedges may be made to bear within all three of the chairs, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. As a further means of making the joint secure the chairs may be provided with buttons or studs 23, projecting up from the bottom, and the rails provided with holes or recesses 2a, which are set over such projections, or vice versa-that is, the holes may be in the chair and the studs on the rails. In the drawings a series of holes in the rails is shown at or near the ends of each and a corresponding series of studs in the large chairs, while the small chairs are shown as having a single hole 25 and the rails with a corresponding stud 26, the holes being in all cases larger than the studs, so as to allow of the sliding movement of the rails when contracting or expanding without disturbance of the ties. This feature of the invention is made the subject of an application for a patent on broader lines than herein contemplated, the same having been filed on the 15th day of July, 1904:, Serial No. 216,736, and is herein shown for the purpose of being made an element of one of the combinations to be covered by the claims for the formation of a joint.

It will be understood that a railway-rail joint which is free from bolts and their attendant objections is a structure much needed. In this improvement the security of the joint is effected by means which give it great strength and rigidity and yet permits of an expansion and contraction of the rails without any liability of disturbing the wedging surfaces of the angle-bar wedges, which may be held by special means-as, for instance, the contact with the chair or specially-roughened surfaces or otherwise, as desired. Statical friction between the wedges and chairs under the intense pressure of the wedges is enormously greater than the friction between the wedges and rails, since the jar of the wheels of passing trains changes that to the friction of motion. Also a thin ribbon of softer metal--say lead interposed between the chairs and the wedges, precludes the possibility of their being moved fromthe position of rest except by a blow with a spike-maul or sled e. A small quantity of mineral lubricant, such as soapstone or graphite, put in the chairs and on the base of the rail lessens the friction of the rails, permitting the free expansion and contraction until the irregularities of the bearing-surfaces shall have been worn off. It may also be remarked that as the connection between the various parts is such as to dispense with the use of bolts passing through the rails the joint thus made is readily adaptable to electric-wire transits from rail to rail behind the wedges either for signal or motor purposes.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In rail-joints, a chair having a bottom, sides and inwardly-turned wings, in combination with two rails having their bases and webs, at and near the adjoining ends, loosely received and partially enveloped by said chair, and angle-bar wedges, tapered transversely and longitudinally, said wedges being interposed between the enveloped and inclosing parts of the rails and chair substantially as described.

2. In rail-joints, a chair having a bottom, sides and inwardly-turned wings, in combination with two rails having their bases and webs, at and near the adjoining ends, loosely received and partially enveloped by said chair, angle-bar wedges, tapered transversely and longitudinally, interposed between the enveloped and inclosing parts of the rails and chair,

IOO

and means for resisting displacement of the Wedges during movements of the rails substantially as described.

3. In rail-joints a chair having a bottom, sides, Wings and flanges adapted to loosely receive the ends of adjoining rails and partially envelop the bases and Webs thereof, in combination with angle-bar Wedges, having a crosssectional contour conformable to the spaces between the enveloped and inclosing parts of the rails'and chair, said angle-bar Wedges being adapted to present less frictional resistance in their contacting surfaces with the rails than with the chair, substantially as described.

4. In rail-joints the combination of a chair having protuberances on the upper surface of its bottom, rails having recesses larger than CHARLES A. GILOHRIST.

Witnesses:

V. P. VVooD, CHAS. Gr. WooD. 

